Kokatat Paddling Apparel Under New Ownership

By Iridian Casarez on July 28, 2021 at 12:33PM

After 50 years of owning Kokatat, Steve O'Meara has sold the Arcata-based “Before joining Kokatat, Mark was a local businessman and I’m pleased to be entrusting the company that means so much to me and our employees into his hands,” said O’Meara in a press release.

The Megadrought is Just One Factor Driving Up the Price of Your Bread

By Alexandra Jones on July 21, 2021 at 8:53AM

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California Moves to be First State to Fund Pilot Universal Basic Income

By Jesse Bedayn/CalMatters on July 19, 2021 at 6:37AM

One recipient of Santa Clara’s program was Veronica Vieyra, a recent San Jose State University graduate. In March 2020, Vieyra was surviving on a $1,100 monthly stipend from an internship with iFoster, an organization supporting foster youth.

Huffman: Automatic Child Tax Credits Will Fuel Economy, Help Struggling Families

By Thadeus Greenson on July 15, 2021 at 4:37PM

HSU's Polytech Push Receives $458 Million from State

By Iridian Casarez on July 13, 2021 at 12:32PM

Humboldt State University's polytechnic push will receive a historic $458 million investment from the state that will fast track new (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) academic programs, building renovations, upgraded laboratory spaces, additional student housing, expanded broadband and renewable energy research capacity. “This historic investment will be transformational for our institution, and it will revitalize this region for decades into the future,” said HSU President Tom Jackson, Jr. “HSU will do everything we can to be deliberate, respectful, responsible, and forthright as we accept the investment by the people of California in this incredible university and this amazing region."

Airport Microgrid Project Breaks Ground

By Kimberly Wear on July 8, 2021 at 6:05PM

Construction is underway on a microgrid at the county’s regional airport in McKinleyville that will boast a number of firsts when it becomes operation later this year, according to a Redwood Coast Energy Authority news release. Not only will the Redwood Coast Airport Microgrid be the first 100 percent renewable grid with multi-customers but it will use a unique collaboration to get out the power and be the first microgrid to participate in the state’s wholesale electricity market, generating enough energy to power the equivalent of 500 homes, the release states.

EDD Fiasco Takes a Surprising Turn

By Emily Hoeven, CalMatters on July 8, 2021 at 10:28AM

Just how dysfunctional is California’s unemployment department? Apparently so dysfunctional that Bank of America, which since 2010 has had an exclusive contract with the state to deliver unemployment benefits through prepaid debit cards, wants to end the contract — even though the Employment Development Department just renewed it for another two years.

Report: $124 Million Needed to Transform Port of Humboldt for Offshore Wind

By Thadeus Greenson on June 30, 2021 at 1:28PM

The prospect of a floating wind farm being built 28 miles off Humboldt’s coast got a big push forward in May, when Gov. Gavin Newsom and Interior Secretary Deb Haaland announced the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management will offer lease auctions as early as next year for two stretches of coastal waters off the North Coast and northwest of Morro Bay. If completed, the project would initially generate enough power to supply Humboldt County’s electric grid, with the potential to expand if infrastructure were developed to outsource the electricity to other areas of the state.

New Closures Coming to Last Chance Grade

By Kimberly Wear on June 29, 2021 at 3:13PM

Traversing the upper reaches of California along U.S. Highway 101 is about to become more complicated as Caltrans extends road closures to accelerate a stabilization project on a slope over the short but notorious Del Norte County section known as Last Chance Grade. This year alone, landslides blocked the aptly named stretch south of Crescent City — which serves as a main link between the northernmost areas of the state to points south — several times.

Is California Still Facing an Eviction Tsunami When the Moratorium Ends?

By Nigel Duara/CalMatters on June 16, 2021 at 10:05AM